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tf f ntrnniiil ^nntrr rr.itni 
of the 

^\m\ 50, ^. il., 1SS9. 



of the 

3^(nau!ntvatiou of 
^pril 30, ^. §., 1SS9. 



Religious ^rrvicc^ 

held itt the 
o( Turlington, Trvmont, 

itt celrbration of thr 

Centennial Jtnnivrt^avii 

of thr 

InnurjUfation af Sfornc ilfashinnton 

%s lirst llreaiifnt of iljc JEJnittli Stnifs, 

^\m\ 30, |l. ^., J7S9. 



as 









i'ubUshcil fov 



HON. W. A. CROMBIE, Mayor of the City, 



HON. GEO. H. MORSE, 
REV. L. G, WARE, 
A, E. RICHARDSON, 
HENRY GREEN, 
BENNET TURK, 
E. W. PECK, 
EDWARD WELLS, 
E. S. KIMBALL, 
PROF. G. H. PERKINS, 
HON. DANIEL ROBERTS. 
H. O. WHEELER, 
S. W. LANDON, 

E. B. WHITING, 
P, E. PEASE, 
GEN. T. S. PECK, 
ROBERT ROBERTS, 
DR. H. C. TINKHAM, 
HON. TORREY E. WALES. 
A. C. WHITING, 

F. S. PEASE, 

PRES. M. H. BUCKHAM, 
HON. G. G. BENEDICT, 
EDWARD LYMAN, 
W. J. VAN PATTEN. 
C. P. SMITH, 
MISS A. O. TAFT, 



REV. F. E. DEAVHURST, 

S. D. HODGE, 

J. M. MATHEWS, 

H. C. GILBERT, 

PROF. V. G. BARBOUR, 

ELIAS LYMAN, 

HAMILTON S. PECK, 

J. E. SMITH, 

M. H. STONE, 

HORATIO HICKOK, 

E. L. RIPLEY, 

REV. EDWARD H AWES, D. D.. 

J. H, HOLTON, 

E. B. JOHNSON, 

GEO. F. BELL, 

THOMAS ROSE, 

MISS FANNY LEMON. 

C. W. DAVIS, 

H. E. ADAMS, 

C. L. BOYNTON, 

REV. F. G. McFARLAN, 

HARRY WHITCOMB, 

W. H. S. WHITCOMB, 

REV. EDWARD HUNGERFORD. 

GEO. E. DAVIS, 

HON. ELIHU B. TAFT. 



One of the marked clays in the cour.se of onr National 
history, was that which has just been so widely observed at 
the close of one hundred years of American Liberty. In this 
city the Inauguration of George Washington as the first 
President of the United States was fittingly observed by a 
Centennial Celebration. The result of a previous meeting 
of a number of gentlemen for conference was the adoption 
of the programme for public services, as indicated in the fol- 
lowing pages. These services were held at nine o'clock 
a. m., April 30, with the First Church of Christ.* The 
house was tastefully and abundantly adorned with " red, 
white and blue," and was filled with a responsive and 
patriotic audience. The choirs of diifereut churches united 
to render efi'ective music ; and the entire service has been 
deemed worthy of record in this memorial pamphlet. 

Burlington, Vermont, July 1, 1889. 



Ill its house of worship, on Winooski Avenue. 



The Music for the occasiou was rendered by a chorus of 
sixteen voices supported by au orchestra, and the organ, at 
which Mr. C. W. Davis presided. 

The leading parts in the anthems were taken by Mr. 
Geo.F. Bell, Mr. Herman L. Walker,Mr. Thos. Eose, Mr.F. M. 
Corse, Miss F. P. Lemon, Mrs. F. E. Dewhurst, Miss Bertha 
Rice, Miss Mary Simpson and Mrs. B. Waterman. The 
hymn " O God, beneath thy guiding hand," was sung to 
the tune of Duke St., the congregation joining, as also in the 
hymn " My country 'tis of thee," which was sung to the 
tune of America, and in the Doxology. Keller's American 
Hymn was rendered by the choir. 



11 
Oifueval (Order of ^nvirr. 

1. Orgau Voluutary. 

2. Festival Te Deum, - - - Back. 

Chorus Choir. 

3. Invocation. 

Rev. C. F. Carter. 
■4. President's Proclamation. 

Rev. F. E. Dewhurst. 

5. Eesponsive Eeading, - Psalms sliv and Isxviii. 

Led by Rev. E. Hawes, D. D. 

6. A Special Thanksgiving. 

Rev. L. G. Ware. 

7. Hymn No. 644, in Songs of Christian Praise. 

8. Scripture. 

Rev. F. G. MeFarlan. 

9. Prayer. 

Rev. Edward Hunserford. 

10. Extracts from Washington's Inaugural. 

Rev. E. Hawes, D. D. 

11. Keller's American Hymn. 

Chou-. 

12. Address. 

President M. H. Buckham, D. D. 

13. Hymn No. 659, " America" with Doxology. 

14. Benediction. 

Pronounced !>>• Rev. O. H. Wiiite. 



12 
^ftrr tUr (Oiflan Toluntavii thr Choiv sanp 

if fifum 

We praise thee, O God ; we ackuowledge tliee to be the 

Lord. 
All the earth doth worship thee, the Father everlastiug. 
To thee, all aiigols cry aloud ; the heavens, and all the 

powers therein. 
To thee, cherubim and seraphim continually do cry, 
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth ; 
Heaven and eartli are full of the majesty of thy glory. 
The glorious company of apostles praise thee. 
The goodly fellowship of the prophets praise thee. 
The noble army of luartyrs praise thee. 
The holy church throughout all the world doth ackuowledge 

thee ; 
The Father, of an infinite majesty ; 
Thine adorable, true, and only Sou ; 
Also the Holy Ghost, the Comforter. 
Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ. 
Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father. 
Wlien thou tookest upon thee to deliver luau, tiiou didst 

humble thyself to be born of a virgin. 
When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, thou 

didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers. 
Thou sittest at the right hand of God, in the glory of the 

Father. 



13 

We believe that thou shalt come to be our judge. 

We therefore pray thee, help thy servants, whoDi thou hast 
redeemed with thy precious blood. 

Make them to be uumbered with thy saints, in <^lory ever- 
lasting. 

O Lord, save thy people, and bless thine heritage. 

Govern them, and lift them up forever. 

Day by day we magnify thee ; 

And we worship thy name ever, world without end. 

Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day without sin. 

O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us. 

O Lord, let thy mercy be iipon us, as our trust is in thee. 

O Lord, in thee have I trusted ; let me never be confounded. 



14 



(Then iiHiS ^ivtn 

I\\t S^nvoration. 

Mighty Goil, Thou Provideuce Eternal, assem- 
bled here as citizens of a great nation, iu common pur- 
pose witli many of oin- bretliren, we recognize Thee as the 
God of nations, and would ascribe to thee heart-felt praises 
for the way thou hast led us and our fathers hitherto ; be- 
seeching thee, that through this service, as our thoughts 
turn to the establishment of this government, we may be 
impressed with gratitude for thy guidance, thy loving kind- 
ness, and thy gracious purpose manifest in all our nation's 
history. 

Issuing from this day and hour, may there be in all our 
lives au increase of loyalty to our country and of reverent 
devotion to Thee, O God, who art above all and in all. Lord 
forever more. And to Thee shall be our praise. Amen. 



15 
gcrc was rrail the 

l^fSitUnt's I'rorlamntion. 

as foUous : 

By the Pvesklent of the Vnited States of America : 

A PKOCLAMATION. 

A liuiKlred years have passed since the goverumeut 
which our forefathers fouuded was formally organized. At 
uoon on the 30th day of April, 1789, iu the city of New York 
and in the presence of an assembly of the heroic men whose 
patriotic devotion had led the colonies to victory and inde- 
pendence, George Washington took the oath of office as chief 
magistrate of the new-born republic. This impressive act was 
preceded at 9 o'clock iu the morning in all the churches of 
the city by prayer for God's blessing on the government and 
its first president. The centennial of this illustrious event in 
our history has l)cen declared a general holiday by act of 
Congress, to the end that the people of the whole country 
may join in commemorative exercises appropriate to the day. 
In order that the joy of the occasion may be associated with 
deep thankfulness in the minds of the people for all our bless- 
ings in the past, and a devout supplication to God for their 
gracious continuance in the futiire, the representatives of the 
religious creeds, both Christian and Hebrew, have memorial- 
ized the government to designate an hour for prayer and 



16 

thanksgiving on that day. Now, therefore, I, Benjamin Har- 
rison, President of the United States of America, in response 
to tliis pious and reasonable I'eqnest, do recommend that on 
Tuesday, April 30, at the hour of 9 o'clock in the morning, 
the people of the entire country repair to their respective 
places of divine worship to implore the favor of God, that the 
blessings of liberty, prosperity and peace may abide with us 
as a people, and that His hand may lead us in the paths of 
righteousness and good deeds. 

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and 
caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed. 
Done in the city of Washington this fourth day of April, in 

the year of our Lord 1889, and of the independence of the 

United States the 113th. 

BENJAMIN HAERISON. 
By the president, 

James G. Blaine, Secretary of State. 



17 
®hf« mxc read rrspcwivrij, by mini,Ux an,l i-roplt portions 

of thr 

.foilu-fouith and ^crfntti-finhtli i'salms. 

We have heard witli our ears, O God, our fathers have 
told us, what deeds tliou didst in tlieir days, m the days of ohl 

Witli thiue own haud didst thou drive out uatiors, and 
plant our fathers ; thou didst destroy peoples and cause our 
fathers to flourish. 

For they got not the land in possession by their own 
sword, neither did their own arm save them : 

But thy right haud, and thine arm, an.l the light of thy 
countenance ; for thou didst favour them ! 

Give ear, O my people, to my teaching ; incline your ears 
to the words of my mouth ; I will open my mouth in a para- 
ble ; I wdl utter sayings of ancient times. 

What we have heard and learned ; an.l our fathers have 
told us-we will not hi.le from their children, showing to the 
generation to come the praises of the Lord, his might, and 
his wonderful works that he hath done. 

For he appointed statutes, and estabhshed a law, which 
he commanded our fathers to make known to their children : 
That the generation to come might know them, the chil- 
dren who should be born, and rise up, who should declare 
them to their children : 

That they might put their trust in God, an 1 not forget 
his deeds, but keep his commandments. 



18 



% f raycr of .^\m\\\\ ®hanh$(iivin»i. 

O God, whose name is excellent in all the earth, and 
whose glory is above the heavens, and who didst, as on this 
day, inspire and direct the hearts of our forefathers in laying 
the strong fouudations of peace, liberty, and safety for our 
nation ; we bless and adore thy glorious majesty for this 
thy loving kindness towards us. And we humbly pray that 
the devout sense of thy signal mercies to our laud may renew 
and increase in us a spirit of love and thankfulness to thee, 
the author of all good, and a spirit of true devotion to the 
welfare of our country. May we so improve thine inestima- 
ble blessings, that peace and happiness, truth and justice, re- 
ligion and piety may be established among us for all genera- 
tions. This we beg through the merits of Jesus Christ our 
Saviour.* Av)e/i. 



A prayer supiiosed to liuve been u.seil :it the Iimuguratioii. 



19 



l>\ttn a-a.« sunn by CChoir and f roplr th»,s 

1. O God, beneath thy guiding luind, 
Our exiled fatliers crossed tlie sea ; 
And wlien they trod tlie wintry strand, 
Witli prayer and psahn thej- worsliiped thee. 

2. Tliou heardst, well pleased, the song, the prayer 
Thy blessing came; and still its power 

Shall onward through all ages bear 
The memory of that holy hour. 

:!. What change ! through pathless wilds no more 
The fierce and naked savage roams: 
Sweet praise, along the cultured shore. 
Breaks froni ten thou.sand happy homes. 

4. Laws, freedom, truth, and faith in Goil 
Came with those exiles o'er the waves. 
And where their pilgrim feet have trod. 
The (iod they trusted guards their graves. 

.5. And here thy name, O God of love. 
Their children's children shall adore, 
Till these eternal hills remove. 
And spring adorns the earth no more. 



20 
^ftrr ^inniiip (oUourd 

Mt $m\nm( Cession. 

PSALM 147. 

Praise ye the Lord : for it is good to siug praises uuto our 
God ; for it is pleasant ; and praise is comely. 

The Lord doth build up Jerusalem : he gathereth together 
the outcasts of Israel. 

He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their 
wounds. 

He telleth the number of the stars ; he calleth them all by 
their names. 

Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding 
is infinite. 

The Lord lifteth xip the meek : he casteth the wicked down 
to the ground. 

Sing uuto the Lord with thanksgiving ; siug praise upon 
the harp unto our God : 

Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain 
for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains. 

He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens 
which cry. 

He delighteth not in the strength of the horse : he taketh 
not i^leasure in the legs of a man. 

The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those 
that hope in his mercy. 

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem ; praise thy God, O Zion. 



21 

For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates ; he hath 
blessed thy children within thee. 

He inaketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the 
finest of the wheat. 

He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth : his word 
runneth vei'y swiftlj'. 

He giveth snow like wool : he scattereth the hoar frost 
like ashes. 

He casteth forth his ice like morsels : who can stand before 
his cold ? 

He sendeth out his word, and melteth them : lie causeth 
his wind to blow, and the waters flow. 

He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judg- 
ments unto Israel. 

He hath not dealt so with any nation : and as for his judg- 
ments, they have not known them. Praise ye the Lord. 



22 
?lrvf ufvr offrvcrt 

iHiuistct : Let us pray as our Lord Jesus Christ has 
taught us, saj'ing : 

i)Uui,9tfr anil i'foplr : Our Father, who art in lieaven, 
hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be 
done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily 
bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those 
who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation ; 
but deliver us from evil: for thine is the kingdom, and the 
power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. 

ittiiiictcv : Bow down thine ear, O Lord, and answer me; 
for I am poor and needy. 
Kejoiee the soul of thy servant ; 
For unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. 
For thou. Lord, art good, and ready to forgive. 
And plenteous in mercv unto all them that call upon thee.* 

Ps 80:1. 4, .i. 

Heal, O Lord, the diseases of thy people, and in thy 
mercy visit us with thy compassions. Graciously preserve 
our land in peace and strength, in justness and quietness, t 
that thy thankful people may unitedly strive for the 
triumph of thy kingdom. 

Eemember not, Lord, our offences, nor the offences of 
our forefathers ; neither take thou vengeance of our sins : 

' Morning Litany in American Book of Church Services. 
t Greek Liturgy of Saint Mark. 



23 

spare us, good Lord, spare thy people, whom thou Last re- 
deemed with Christ's most precious blood, and be uot angry 
with us forever.* 

We humbly beseech thee, O Father, mercifully to look 
upon our infirmities ; and, for the glory of thy name, turn 
from us all those evils that we most justly have deserved ; and 
grant, that in all our troubles we may put our whole trust 
and confidence in thy mercy, and evermore serve thee in 
holiness and pureness of living, to thy honor and glory; 
through our only Mediator and Advocate, Jesus Christ our 
Lord.* 

THANKSGIVING. 

Almighty and eternal God, who in the former days 
didst lead our fathers through manifold dangers into the 
possession of religious freedom and civil liberty, we praise 
thee and give thanks unto thee, that when thou hadst estab- 
lished them in good government and hadst given them wise 
men of their choice to rule over them, thou didst preserve 
unto them the beneficent order into which thou hadst led 
them, so that we their children rejoice in the same. And 
we beseech thee, from whom cometh every good, and with- 
out whom nothing that is good can endure, now and in all 
time so to rule and govern this thy people, that the bless- 
ings which our fathers received from thee may be continued 
unto all generations.t 

* Auglican 

t Prepared for the occasion 



M 



A PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE. 



O God, who didst lay the foundations of this nation iu 
the love of Jesus Christ our Lord, we beseech thee evermore 
to keep us in his love. And as thou hast in time past been 
our defence, in the time to come deliver us from all our 
enemies. Especially do we pray thee to save us fi-om the 
perils of ignorance and unbelief, of irreverence and lawless- 
ness, of trust in worldly wealth or power, and to make us 
always mindful of our dependence on thee.* 

FOR ELECTIONS OF RULERS. 

O Lord our God, thou rulest over the nations and our 
hearts are in thy hand as the water courses ; thou turnest 
them whithersoever thou wilt. We earnestly beseech thee, 
at all times so to direct us as a people, that we may choose 
and establish in authority over us the men whom thou 
choosest for our good and the advancement of thy kingdom. 
Suffer us not to be embittered against each other in 
partisan strife. O Lord, who lovest truth, deliver us from 
the false and slanderous tongue, from the selfi.sh designs of 
evil men, fi'om bribery, corruption, and an inordinate love 
of jDOwer. Dispose thy people to sinceritj', and grant that 
we may unitedly seek good government and just laws, witli 
a righteous administration of the same, to the praise of tliy 
great name.t 

•Prepareil for the occasion. 
iAmerican Book ofCburch Services. 



25 

FOE THE COUNCILS OF THE NATION. 

Most gracious God, whose wisdom is perfect aud whose 
aids can supply every human defect, we humbly beseech thee, 
as for the people of these United States in general, so espec- 
ially for those who represent them in the legislative and 
executive councils of the nation, that thoi; wouldst be 
pleased to direct and prosper all their deliberations to the 
advancement of thy glorj', the good of thy church, the safety, 
unity, honor, and welfare of thy people ; that all things may 
be so ordered and settled by their endeavors, upon the best 
and surest foundations, that peace and happiness, trath and 
justice, religion and piety, may be established among \is for 
all generations. These and all other necessaries, for them, 
for us, and for thy whole church, we humbly beg in the name 
and mediation of Jesus Chriist, our most blessed Lord ami 
Saviour.* 

FOK ALL IN HIGH PLACE. 

Most merciful God, who hast taught us to make inter- 
cession for kings and all that are in high place, we earnestly 
entreat thee to preserve, guide, and bless the President of these 
United States, the Governor of this State, and all througout 
the world administer the power which belongeth unto 
thee, that, being mindful whence cometh their authority, they 
may always incline to thy will and walk in thy way. Endow 
them plenteously with heavenly gifts, t(j the end that they 

* Adapted from Common ri'ayer. 



26 

may minister, iu fnlness of thy wisdom and grace, for tlie 
glory of thy name, the advancement of thy kingdom, and the 
welfare of thy peoijle.* 

FOR PEACE. 

O God, who art the unsearchable abyss of peace, the 
ineffable sea of love and the fountain of blessings, who 
sendest peace to those that receive it; open to us this day 
tbe sea of thy love, and water us with plenteous streams 
from the springs of thy benignity. Make us children of 
quietness, and heirs of peace. Enkindle in us the flame of 
pure affection ; sow in us thy fear ; strengthen our weakness 
by thy power ; bind us closely to thee and to each other in 
one firm and indissoluble bond of unity, iu Jesus Christ oiir 
Lord.i- 

A PRAYER OF ST. CHRYSOSTOM. 

Almighty God, who hast given us grace with one accord 
to make our common siipplications unto thee, and dost 
promise that when two or three are gathered together in thy 
name thou wilt grant their requests; fulfill now, O Lord, the 
desires and petitions of thy servants, as may be most expe- 
dient for them ; granting us in this world knowledge of thy 
truth, and in the world to come life everlasting. Amen. 



* Prepared for tlie occasion. 
f Syrian Clementine Liturgy 



27 
ffhrii wtxf ptfsrnffrt 

0r.vtrai;ts! from Washiiuitnn^. Mnauiuiral. 

Of the fact tluit George Washington was a man of deeply 
religions spirit there can be no doubt. The proofs of this 
which were given at diliereut periods of his life, in times 
both of war and of peace, are verj- numerous. Immediately 
after the Declaration of Independence — in an order to his 
troops — he said : " The blessing and protection of heaven 
are at all times necessary, but especially so in times of public 
danger and distress. The General hopes and trusts, that 
every officer and man will endeavor to live and act as be- 
comes a Christian soldier, defending the dearest rights and 
liberties of his country." In a letter in which reference was 
made to the progress of the war, he said : " The hand of 
Providence has been so conspicuous in all this, that he must 
be worse than an infidel, that lacks faith, and more than 
wicked, that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his 
obligations." " I am sure," he said again, " there never was 
a people, who had more reason to acknowledge a divine in- 
terposition in their affairs, than those of the United States ; 
and I should be pained to believe, that they have forgotten 
that agency, which was so often manifested, or that they 
failed to consider the omnipotence of that God, who is alone 
able to protect them." Quite in harmony with these and 
man}' such utterances — and not mere perfunctory expressions 
— are the following extracts from his inaugural address, de- 
livered one hundred years ago to-day : " It would be pecu- 



28 

liarlj improper to omit, iu this first official act, my fervent 
supplications to tliat Almiglity Being, who rules over the 
universe, who presides in tlie councils of nations, and whose 
providential aids can supply every human defect, that his 
benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of 
the people of the United States a government instituted by 
themselves for these essential purposes, and may enable 
every instrument employed in its administration to execute 
with success the functions allotted to his charge. In ten- 
dering this homage to the great Author of every public and 
private good, I assure myself that it expresses your senti- 
ments not less than my own ; nor those of my fellow-citizens 
at large, less than either. No people can be bound to 
acknowledge and adore the invisible hand, which conducts 
the affairs of men, more than the people of the United States. 
Every step by which they have advanced to the character of 
an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by 
some token of providential agency. And, in the important 
revolution just accomplished in the system of their united 
government, the tranquil deliberations, and voluntary con- 
sent of so many distinct communities, from which the event 
has resulted, cannot be compared with the means by which 
most governments have been established, without some re- 
turn of pious gratitude along with an humble anticipation of 
the future blessings which the past seems to presage. These 
reflections arising out of the present crisis, have forced them- 
selves too strongly on my mind to be suppressed. You will 



29 

join with me, I trust, iu tliinkiup; that there are noue, under 
the iutiuence of wliich the proceedings of a new and free 
government can more auspiciously commence." 

Having referred to certain grounds of confidence for the 
future, he said still fvuther : " I dwell on this prospect with 
every satisfaction which an ardent love for my country can 
iusjnre ; since there is no truth more thoroughly established, 
than that there exists in the economy and course of nature 
an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness, between 
duty and advantage, between the genuine maxims of an 
honest and magnanimous polic}, and the solid rewards of 
public prosperity and felicity ; since we ought to be no less 
persuaded that the propitious smiles of heaven can never be 
expected on a uation that disregards the eternal rules of 
order and right, which heaven itself has ordained ; and since 
the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny 
of the repidjlican model of government, are justly considered 
as deeply, ])erhaps as finally staked, on the exj^eriment in- 
trusted to the hands of the American people." His address 
closes with these words : " Having thus im|)arted to you 
my sentiments, as they have been awakened by the occasion 
which brings us together, I shall take my present leave ; but 
not without resorting once more to the benign Parent of the 
human race, in humble supplication, that, since he has been 
pleased to favor the American people with opportunities for 
deliberating in perfect tranquility, and dispositions for de- 
ciding with unparalleled unanimity on a form of government 



30 

for the security of their iiuion and the ad\;njcement of their 
happiness ; so his divine blessing may be equally conspicu- 
ous in the enlarged views, the temperate consultations, and 
the wise measures, on which the success of this government 
miTst depend." And in responding to the answer of the 
Senate to his speech, he further added : " Thus, supported 
by a firm trust iu the Great Arbiter of the universe, aided 
l)y the collected wisdom of the Union, and imploring the 
Divine Benediction on our joint exertions in the service of 
our country, I readily engage with you in the arduous but 
pleasing task of attempting to make a nation happy." 



'31 
^litxt uiajs .«un8 thi;ei 

1 Augel of Peace, thou hast wandered too lon.i;. 

Spread thy wliite wings to tlie sunshine ol' love; 
t'onie, while our voices are blended in song. 

Fly to our ark Hke the storm-beaten dove; 
Fly to our ark on the wings of a dove. 

Speed o'er the far-sounding billows f>f song: 
(-^rowned with thine olive-leaf garland of love, 

Angel of Peace, thou hast waited too long. 

'..' Brothers we meet, on this altar of thine 

Mingling the gifts we have gathered for (hee: 
Sweet with the odors of myrtle and pine. 

Breeze of the prairie and breath of the sea: 
Meadow and nioiuitain, and ft)rest and sea. 

Sweet is the fragrance of myrtle and pine; 
Sweeter tlie incense we offer to thee, 

Brothers once more roinid this altar of thine. 

■i Angels of Bethlehem answer the .strain; 

Hark ! a new birth-song is filling the sky I 
Loud as the storm-wind that tumbles the m;un. 

Bid tlie fidl bi-eatli of the organ reply: 
Let the loud tempest of voices reply, — 

Roll its l(.)ng surge like the earth-shaking main I 
Swell the vast S(.)ng till it mounts to the sky ! 

Angels of Bethlehem echo the .strain. 



' 32 

^fttx the iljjmn followed the 

If any discourse maj' rigtly find place amid the devo- 
tional strains of this sei-vice, there can be but one appro- 
]niate theme of speech — God in oiir national life during the 
century past ; God's loving care brooding over us ; God's 
■wisdom devising the best for us ; God's omnipotent but 
gentle hand guiding us. Christianity has taught us how our 
patriotism may be religious without being boastful, or exclu- 
sive, or invidious. We do not congratulate ourselves to-day 
that God has not dealt so with any other nation. We joy- 
fully recognize his great blessings bestowed on other peo- 
ples. What hath God wrought during the century past for 
England and France, for Germany and Italy, for Japan and 
the islands of the Pacific, for those who in Christ are our 
kin in all lauds! But patriotism does not lose its virtue 
when it grows warmer and more intense as it lingers over its 
special reasons for felicitation and gratitude, and religion 
gains new volume and momentum when it can say not only 
" Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless 
His holy name," but can call aloud to the multitude of them 
that keep holy day, " Let the people praise thee, O God, let 
all the people praise thee." 

And, first, we recognize God's gifts to us in the leaders 
he has given us, especially that one pre-eminent leader 
whose formal induction to office we this day commemorate, 
and whose transcendent merit has steadily grown upon the 



world during the century past. God's highest gift to men 
always and everywhere is a great man. If the hour of op- 
portunity conies to any nation and not tlie man, all the re- 
sources of the universe beside cannot compensate for the 
lack. How many such opportunities mankind has lost be- 
cause the man did not appear, could be known only by one 
who could read on the blank pages of history what might 
have been written of what might have been done. But once, 
at least, in the course of events the hour came and the man 
— the man whom all mankind have consented to honor as 
the man best fitted to match a great opportunity. Beyond 
our praise, in the simple majesty with which he towers above 
other men, even other great men, we do well to praise him, 
to build monuments to his memorj', to appoint da3s of com- 
memoration and eulogj'. We can add nothing to his fame, 
but the effort to appreciate him, the elevation of mind and 
feeling which the homage of him produces in us, is a national 
means of grace. But, given the great man, an almost equal 
factor in the conjunction of events is the ability to recognize 
the great man and to give him his opportunit}'. How often 
in human afi'airs might the lament have been tittered — " If 
ye had but known, even ye in this your day — but now it is 
hid from your ej-es." Washington at the head of the army, 
Washington at the head of the State — in both cases 
supremely sagacious in understanding and skilful in con- 
trolling events — is to the student of human history not so 
surprising a character as Washington thoroughly appre- 



34 

ciated, absolutely trusted, devotedly loved, unauimotisly 
elected to the presidency. That he who was first iu peace 
and first in war was first in the hearts of his countrymen, is 
evidence not only that God gave the people a great leader, 
but that there was also a true-hearted, magnanimous people, 
who knew what a leader God had given them. 

But Washington was not the only great leader for whom 
our retrospect of the century claims thanksgiving to-day. 
Greatness of soul has power to reproduce itself. Washing- 
ton was gi'eatest, but Hamilton and Madison, Adams and 
Jefi'erson, Marshall and Webster, Lincoln and Grant, and 
scores of others, who if inferior to these, are inferior to few 
others in history, come trooping in long procession before 
our patriotic memory and claim our admiration and gratitude. 
The famous eleventh chapter of the Hebrews might well be 
paralleled by an eleventh chapter of the Americans, reciting 
the faith and heroism of our elders who have obtained a 
good report, and calling on us to run the race that is before 
us in the coming centuries, seeing that we also are compassed 
about with a great cloud of witnesses. 

We recognize also God's good hand upon us in the 
Constitution which for the century past has been the law of 
oi;r national life. The world may be challenged to point to a 
public document which gives better evidence that its framers 
were inspired and guided by a wisdom beyond their own. It 
would have better suited a few literalists, if the Divine Name 
had been inserted somewhere, anywhere, if so be that in some 



35 

conventioiml and perfnuctory way the divine being might 
have had dii^ recognition. But as God is in nature in its 
abounding vitality, in its exquisite beauty, and perfect har- 
mony, a thousand times more impressively than if his name 
had been spelled out in the rock and bellowed out in the 
thunder, so God is in the constitution in that reticent rever- 
ence which does not parade his titles in set phrase, but does 
put his love of justice and of mercy, his care for the rights of 
the weak and the duties of the strong, into every article and 
section and clause of it. Most siguiticaut to us in the re- 
trospect of it is the fact that slavery in those days of its 
power could get no direct recognition in the Constitution, but 
that in this august presence it stands a masked and guilty 
thing, ashamed of its own nature. Significant also iu face of 
the history of State religions is the provision that " there 
shall be no law respecting an establishment of religion or 
prohibiting the free exercise thereof," and that " no religious 
test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or 
public trust under the United States." Thus did our fathers 
render unto Ciesar the things that are Caesar's and to God 
the things that are God's. Thus has religion in America 
escaped the " fatal donation of Constantine," and thus has 
the word of God had free course and been glorified. 

Again, we have abundant cause for congratulation and 
thankfulness iu the character of the government we have en- 
joyed under the Constitution. A few eminently wise men 
can make a constitution. In this constitution-making period 



36 

other constituiious, wliicli, thongb iuferior to ours, were yet 
by no means couteruptible, were made for other peoples, the 
French, for example, during the closing years of the century. 
But a succession of statesmen to formulate the principles of 
the Constitution into laws, courts to apply the laws to special 
cases, and, above all, peoples to furnish the high moral con- 
victions, which alone can give constitutions and laws validity 
and force ; all these were lacking elsewhere, but have always 
been forthcoming here in supply adequate to every demand. 
It has been said that the Constitution, as we now have it, is 
almost as much the work of the courts which have interpreted 
it as of the Convention which framed it. But it is not our 
mere good fortune that we have had such statesmen, such 
judges, such a sober, thoughtful, liberty-loving, law-loving 
people. All this had been impossible but for a long ante- 
cedent history, a long course of providential training, through 
which principles became inveterate in national character 
before they were embodied in constitution and laws. Such 
a constitution, such a government could not be extemporized. 
They are the last results of the heroisms, the struggles for 
conscience sake, the battles for the right lost a hundred times 
but won at last, the patience and courage and faith, in which 
alone was the potency of all this fair civil order of the present 
and the firture. 

And finally, it becomes us devoutly to recognize the hand 
which has led us through the sore trials and dire perils of 
civil conflict to the peace and prosperity of this happy day. 



37 

War in itself let ns never think of but as a calamity ; civil 
war, fraternal war, Vnit as a monstrous crime if it be auglit 
but tlie last resort of outraged and defied righteousness. Let 
there be no exulting over victories as victories ; no remem- 
brances which tend to perpetuate evil passions in the breasts 
of either victors or vanquished. Let us pray that the new 
century may dawn on a people one at least in ho]ie for the 
future if they cannot be one in their memories of the past. 
But the history of a people is one of its most precious pos- 
sessions, which they may not without treason either falsify or 
forget. And the one most significant event of our history 
thus far, the most characteristic, the most virile, the sublimest 
act of American nationality, was its deliverance of itself from 
a gigantic national sin through the sacrifices and heroisms of 
the great civil conflict. And beyond all question we have 
here also the clearest of all the tokens of God's presence, and 
the sense of it in our people. For it was no love of conquest 
or glory, no mere passionate determination to win, that sus- 
tained our people through those four terrible years. Nothing 
could have sustained them at the moral height to which they 
sprang and which they unflinchingly maintained, but a firm 
belief that the great Pailer of the nation and the universe had 
set before them a task which at any cost they must fulfil. 
And do we not remember with a kind of awe how serious in 
those days the people were, how devout, how lifted above 
themselves? How solemn and tender was the observance of 
the national days of humiliation and thanksgiving ! How 



38 

beyond wont were tbe cburcbes thronged ! And tliis was some- 
thing more than an extempore and interested religious fervor, 
born of the fear and the hope of the hour. It reached back 
to ancestral traditions and influences, and was fed by streams 
which gathered the piety of many ages. Because from gener- 
ation to generation religion and piety had been mingled in 
the life of America, because the priest in the sanctuary and 
the priest at the family altar liad never ceased to pray for the 
coiantry and its institutions, joining its destinies with those 
of the home and the church, therefore was it that thousands 
of loyal hearts were ready when this endeared and consecrated 
coi;ntry was endangered, to offer themselves in its defence. 
Because the religion of America has been a force in the 
national life, therefore have we a Gettysburg, a Thirteenth 
Amendment, and this proclamation for thanksgiving to God 
for a new century opening on a free, united and happy nation. 



39 
^ftfv the guJtU-css »r«.s sunn bji ©hoi*' anrt yfoplr this 

1 My country ! 'tis of thee, 
Sweet land of liberty, 

Of thee I sLiig; 
Land where my fathers died ! 
Laud of the pilgrims' pride ! 
From every mountain side 
Let freedom ring' ! 

~ My native country, thee. 
Land of the noble free, 

Tliy name I love; 
I love thy rocks and rills, 
Thy woods and templed liills: 
]\Iy heart with rapture thrills 

Like that above. 

:i Let music swell the breeze. 
And rmg from all the trees 

Sweet freedom's song: 
Let mortal tongues awake: 
Let all that breathe partake: 
Let rocks their silence break, — 

The sound prolong. 

4 Our fathers' God ! to thee, 
Author of liberty, 
To thee we sing: 
Long may our land be brigiit 
With freedom's holy light: 
Protect us by thy might, 
Great God, our King ! 



40 
(the Pumn was foHoufed bjj the 

in which all joinrd. 

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow ; 
Praise him, all creatures here below ; 
Praise him above, ye heavenly host ; 
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 

©hf jjetvice closed uith the 

Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and 
to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with 
exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory 
and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. The 
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the 
communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all ; and with 
the President of the United States, with his counsellors, 
with our legislators and civil officers in all the States, and 
with the whole Israel of God, forever. Amen. 



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